Factors that Influence People’s Beliefs About Men’s and Women’s Jealousy Responses

Abstract This study examines what beliefs people hold about other men’s and women’s reaction to infidelity and how related these beliefs are to one’s own jealousy response and to various socio-cultural influences. This novel approach was examined in a Facebook snowball sample ( N = 1213) who responded to three infidelity scenarios regarding what aspect of infidelity (emotional or sexual) they believed would make men and women more jealous and then what aspect would make themselves more jealous. The results suggest that both men and women believed men would be more upset by the sexual aspect of infidelity and that women would be more upset by the emotional aspect (i.e., falling in love). Own jealousy responses in men and women were strongly associated with beliefs about same-sex responses to infidelity and showed moderate association with beliefs about opposite-sex responses. Self-reported perceptions of cues to infidelity and knowledge from various sources about what (1) may be cues to infidelity and (2) may be typical reactions to infidelity were unrelated to beliefs about men’s and women’s jealousy responses and to own jealousy responses. We discuss whether beliefs about men’s and women’s jealousy responses may be culturally transmitted or more likely involve a dual model consisting of (a) reflection of own jealousy responses with (b) some cross-sex insights into jealousy reactions in men and women. The findings suggest that there may be evolved psychological adaptations for jealousy beliefs that extend to others of same and opposite sex.